Oh What a World

  Food! A great motivator. We were fortunate that potable water was still coming out of our taps. We were one of the few areas left in the city that had power during most of the day. Food though… we needed that. Between us and my parents we able to pool together about $250. $250 in cash never looked so good. There was a time during my life before, when $250 almost meant nothing. Which is crazy to think about now. I could walk out of my house and just live a day with food, gas, stop at a couple places, run some errands, do a fun activity with the family to cap off the day and easily spend over $250. Now, with this cash in my hand it felt like the most precious thing in the world, outside of the people standing around me and the roof over our heads. This money could feed us for a little while but it would not be the permanent solution. This was a bandaid, a small bandage on a hemorrhaging wound that needed more than the drug store first aid kit we kept under the sink. Your mother was already mapping out our backyard to maximise crop yield and partnering with Mai and Bill our next door neighbors on how we could grow different things and share, sister garden style. The short term plan was for Pops and I to drive, not far, but we were going to find some food. Rumors were that the grocercy store nearest to us is out and that the gangs are now regularly partolling that area. Preying on unsuspecting victims who were just looking for food, how terrible.

  (Pause)

  I think Im going to have to gloss over some of the details. I feel like its boring and everything from here gets even more unpleasent. I can give you the big touch points, when we had to lock down the block, or when we met Dani and then when we finally left south.

  Liza: Woah... Woah... Woah... I was in it. I want to hear about all those things, but in due time. Don't rush this, we have time. Hell, papaya season isn't for another few weeks. I love hearing about Mom. I don't remember Gma and Pops all that much. I think the details are maybe the most important part of the story.

  Hank: Ok, if you're sure. Where was I?

  Liza: You and Pops were leaving for food.

  Hank: Right...

  The plan was to leave in the late morning and be back before dark. Pops and I will go and try and find a place that is still open and has food still stocked. A fool’s errand is what is felt like. The news was so bad, the national headlines had everyone terrified, becuase they said nothing except how well everything was going. The news just talked about how many new people got chipped and how much safer New York City has become since the police force went fully robotic. The first city in the world. The real news, where you could find it, spoke about riots, murders in the street in broad daylight by the Ferderal Agent and the AI's new PeaceKeepers, these were textbook cyborgs. The PeaceKeepers were a division of homeland security that the AI had set up to act as a domestic armed service. The AI, knew the world was watching and didn’t like the optics of turning the army on the people so it created the PeaceKeepers. They were clearly paramilitary, wore tactical gear, had military issued weapons, and military style tactics. The key difference was that they didn't wear their tech, it was build into them. Exoskeltons, for jumping higher and running faster and longer, and their eyes were covered by concaved glass that was afixed to their head as well. The glass was some kind of augmented reality interface. It felt like they had the ability to show up whenever and wherever. They also had, what felt like, no rules of civil discourse with the public, they just took control of the situation by shooting anyone who stood in their way. Which made the protesters not want to back down but take up arms too.

  Our hyper local intel from the neighborhood was spotty and unreliable. No one had ventured out yet, but rumors of PeaceKeepers in and around our neighborhood were running wild. Pops and I couldn’t predict what we were going into. Was it a simple convenience store run or were we stepping into the fresh hell of an active warzone? We just had no idea.

  Before I could get out the door I remember your mother had her two cents.

  Beth: You know I hate this.

  Hank: It doesn't make sense for all of us to go. We have been over this. I thought this was settled.

  Beth: Im allowed to change my mind. Ive got a bad feeling.

  Hank: Weve all got a bad feeling. Ive had a bad feeling for the past 2 weeks.

  Beth: We'll be okay for a little while longer. Just wait a couple more days. Things might calm down.

  Hank: Look at me. (Gets low enough to look into Beths eyes) We will be safe. We are going to avoid danger at all costs, and we will be back here safe, even if it means no food. Remember to signal for Jack if things go really sideways. You and Liza are safest here. That is what matters most.

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  Beth: I swear to god, if you dont come back, I'm going to fucking kill you.

  Hank: Deal.

  She kissed me and I walked out of the door.

  It was a grey morning, cool and crisp, the sunlight hurt my eyes as I walked outside under the overcast sky. Been inside for too long I thought to myself. The smell of a fresh morning made me feel like this was almost normal, this is just a normal day and everything is going to be okay. Then another smell hit and my stomach turned, I don’t know what is was, car tires on fire mixed with the subtle smell of decay. Just that little whiff floating by my nose brought a fresh sense of urgency to our mission.

  Pops and I mapped out our route one that we thought would be both, the most fuel efficient and would maximise our chances of finding some food. We shared it with the family just in case something went wrong. "Just in case" What a terrible thing to say to someone you love. It ripped my heart out of my chest to say it to your mother as we were leaving, and tears started to run down her face. I could very easily drive around the corner and get shot, or even worse, just step off my front porch... that level of fear and uncertainty really changes you and the way you see and interact with the world.

  The route seemed simple, head west running along the outskirts of the city, not that we loved going anywhere near the city but that is where the two largest and closest grocery stores were located. If they looked abandoned, closed or sketchy we move on without even getting out of the car. There were a couple more smaller stores we will go to on the way but where we thought we might have the most luck would be our final stop. A little bodega style shop that Dad would go to frequently for a cheap cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. It was a little free standing shop off the beaten path and Pops had gotten to know the owner of the place pretty well.

  By the time we had finished our goodbyes and Pops and I were in the car ready to go, the thin fog from the morning had finally cleared but the thick grey blanket of clouds still hung oppressively in the sky, as well as the smell. That burnt flesh smell got caught in your nose and was a constant reminder that somewhere, just out of sight, death was there and waiting. The thick grey matched the cityscape as we passed by the empty lifeless buildings. The streets that were typically streaming with people coming and going were deserted. As we drove past storefront after storefront with busted or boarded up windows. The only bit of beauty was the trash, plastic bags and wrappers dancing in the morning breeze. The backdrop was the buildings marked with scorched bullet holes and crumbling facades.

  All of a sudden, there was a person, a woman, a lady crossing the street, dressed in her finest. Everything that she adorned herself with was old and vintage, a simple small hat with lace hung in front of her face, a large necklace of pearls hung around her neck. She wore a purple full length dress that was tattered at the bottom as if she’d been wearing this same outfit for weeks. She was pushing a shopping around it had some other clothes in it as well but mainly it was full of broken vintage household objects, lamps, table legs, an antique radio, and other shiny metallic objects. She was crossing the street as we were approaching and as we got closer more detail came into view. There were, what appeared to be, black grease stains all over her clothes, as if she slept under a leaking engine. The fine dress was shredded which told the story of her escaping a few places, fighting for her life. Her face was not old but under all the dirt it was hard to say exactly how old she was. She clearly wanted us to stop, she parked herself right in the middle of the road, so we would have to slow down to get around her.

  Pops: Maybe we should stop.

  Hank: No way. Pops are you crazy? Don’t… Please don’t. We have limited time and limited resources as is, we couldn’t help her even with we wanted to. Please let's just keep driving. I've got a bad feeling about this.

  Pops: Im stopping, I wont roll the window down all the way and I’ll keep it short. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if we just drive past. Look she’s waving us down.

  Pops was right she was. She had a white-ish handkerchief and everything, she was waving it like she was a damsel in distress. I hated every moment of this. Pops slowed the car to a stop right next to her. Now some of the details in her face was evident. She was young, maybe just a little older than me, but her face told the story of her living through a fresh kind of hell. A fresh healed slash across her left cheek and a couple teeth missing told me she was a survivor but of what? I didn't care to imagine.

  Pops rolled down the window just enough for us to chat but not low enough for her to reach in. It made the whole situation feel more like a traffic stop and less like a humanitarian mission. She spoke slow and soft with a little bit of a lisp because of the teeth she had lost.

  Lady: Well hello boys. What brings you out on this beautiful morning?

  Pops: Were looking for food for our family. Do you know where there is a store nearby that might be open? Have any food left?

  Lady: (Cackling laugh) Oh no sweetheart, no food around here but I know a better way to spend that money. How about you take me someplace nearby dark and secluded and the three of us have some fun. I turn both of you out and it can be as quick or as long as you like, I'm in no hurry.

  Then she smiled or she tried to smile but between her busted mouth and her freshly sliced cheek, her smile was painful to watch and clearly painful for her to perform.

  Pops: Ok. Well. Thank you very much but we have to be on our way.

  Lady: What?! You too good for this. You too good for all this?

  Pops: That’s not what I said.

  Hank: Pops let's go!

  Lady: You!

  She looked directly at me, and not at me not just in the physical sense but really looked into me. And her crazy went away for a moment. She looked calm, serene even, and then she began to cry.

  Lady: You, you who loves his family. For as much as you love them, like sand in a tight fist one by one you will lose what you love until only you are left, alone, weeping for those you can no longer hold!

  I was shocked and so was Pops. She was a totally different personality until she wasn’t… until she broke.

  Lady: Who the fuck do you think you are comin here and wasting my time. You want these, you know you do! You fucking dicks!!

  The lady began to throw her trinkets at the car as she started to foam at the mouth. She stepped back and went to her dress to pull out her breast or a gun…

  Hank: Pops Drive! Now! GO!

  Pops hit the gas and we were off like a shot with banshee screams in the background.

  Driving down the road we both just breathed and sat in silence. Both of us trying to understand what just happened.

  Hank: We’re not stopping again until we get to a place where we’re sure has food. Deal?

  Pops: Deal.